Happy Birthday Dean Winchester
by GabrieltheTrickster
Summary: Dean returns home after dealign with Cain. He wakes up and realizes it's his 35th birthday. He doesn't expect much, maybe a celebratory beer with Sam and Cas. He gets something he never expected. Rated T for language.


**Author's Note:** I own nothing at all in this fic. It was written for an Anonymous asker on Tumblr, but I also decided to share it here. It's in honor of Dean Winchester's 35th birthday on January 24th. I know it's a day late, but I kept rewriting it so it was perfect.

**Warnings/Disclaimer:** Spoilers if you aren't 100% caught up with S9. Set after the events of 9x11.

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Dean woke up groggily. He felt the comfort of his memory foam beneath him and it took him a few moments to put everything back together in his mind.

After the showdown with Cain, he and Crowley had had their argument and then Crowley had vanished to start searching the oceans for the First Blade. Dean had started to drive towards the nearest motel, but he never stopped driving until he reached the bunker.

He remembered parking the Impala in the garage of the bunker before stumbling in a sleep-deprived stupor down into the bunker. He remembers seeing Cas and Sam and them rushing to him. He remembers getting the fifth degree from Cas after telling them what went down with Cain and how he was now the bearer of the Mark of Cain. The next thing he knew, he was waking up here, in his bed.

Dean yawned and stretched, his muscles sore from lack of use. He checked the digital alarm clock and saw the date. January 24th. His 35th birthday. He scoffed lightly before pulling a grey teeshirt over his head. He lightly brushed his fingers against the raised red mark on his forearm. The texture reminded him of the handprint that used to reside on his left shoulder from when Cas had hauled him out of Hell. He rose from his bed and stretched a few times. Outside in the main room he could hear Sam and Cas talking in hushed tones and shuffling papers around, which probably meant they were researching a hunt.

"Happy birthday to me," Dean muttered under his breath as he quickly brushed his teeth. He wandered out into the main room to find it completely empty. He saw the backpack that is...was Kevin's in the corner as both a memorial to the young prophet and as a reminder that Dean needed to salt and burn those as well. He sighed and looked around.

"Cas? Sam? I know you're here. I just heard you two talking." Dean headed for the library which always seemed to be Sam's room of choice whenever it came to avoiding him, mostly because if Dean showed up while Sammy was doing research, he'd get sucked into hours of reading ancient books. When he rounded the corner, the library was void of his brother and the angel in a trench coat. Dean sighed and began checking all the rooms in the bunker.

After another 10 minutes of searching everywhere, including the garage, Dean could not find neither Sam nor Castiel. He walked into the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of orange juice form the fridge. He drank the entire thing in a few gulps. He tossed the cup into the sink before walking into the main room once more.

"SURPRISE!" Dean jumped and immediately reached for his hand gun before his mind registered the scene in front of him. Stretching across the balcony of the staircase was a clearly hand-made banner that read 'Happy 35th Birthday, Dean!' in green paint. In front of him stood Sam, Castiel and Charlie all dressed in their usual garb, only they had added party hats. On one of the tables there was a pie and a few small wrapped packages.

"What is this? Did you guys plan this? What is going on here?" Dean was asking a million questions all at once until Sam came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It was Cas' idea. I was telling him about how your birthday was coming up so he and I decided that we wanted to celebrate. Do you like it?" Sam's hazel eyes met Dean's emerald ones and Dean glanced at his family.

"I love it, Sammy." Without hesitating and for the first time since Sam had quit the trials, Dean embraced his brother with such ferocity Sam thought he was going to be crushed to death. Dean pulled away before walking over to Cas and giving the angel a soft hug. Cas hugged back almost instantaneously remembering what was considered normal behavior for this occasion. Dean let go and turned to Charlie, who rushed at him and squeezed him tightly.

"Charlie...I thought you were in Oz, living the life of adventure and magic with Dorothy," Dean said, holding his "sister" close to him.

"I opened the door and came back. Turns out that too much magic and adventure gets a little bit boring. I started to miss the guns and blood of hunting real monsters. And I had to come back for your birthday." Charlie smiled up at Dean and Dean returned the sentiment.

"Well, um...let's have some pie!" Dean immediately made a beeline for the apple pie and served everyone a piece. They sat on the various couches and chairs, eating their pie and catching each other up on the various adventures and escapades that they had been getting into, up to and including Dean taking the Mark of Cain from Cain himself so that he could kill Abbadon.

"So, to sum up what's happened since I left, Sam was possessed by a dickhead angel who killed Kevin and other angels for the King Douchwad angel, Castiel was human and then wasn't human, Dean was a dog for a day and now there is an Angelic war brewing on Earth. Awesome.," Charlie said, a look of 'why the Hell did I leave Oz for this' written in her soft brown eyes.

"Yeah, that just about covers it," Cas said, his blue eyes filled with some pain as he recounted every minute detail of the last few months. Without missing a beat, he rose. "I think that this is the appropriate time to give Dean his gifts." Sam rose and gathered the three small packages, handing them to Dean.

Dean grabbed the one that was written in Elvish which he knew was from Charlie. He ripped the small package open to find a $200 gift card to Biggerson's. He smiled.

"Thanks, Charlie! Now I can get all the pie I could ever eat!" He wrapped an arm around the redhead and squeezed her close to him before opening the small box that was addressed with a flowing script that could only belong to Cas. He opened the box gingerly to find a small charm inside. He took it out and admired it.

"It's, um, something that once belonged to Kevin Tran. It was given to him as a protection sigil as a prophet. It was what kept his archangel bound to him until we fell to Earth. I, um, saved it for you because I figured you would want to keep it...it's non-binding since Kevin is dead, so it's just a token." Cas' face was turning a slight shade of red and Dean was trying not to tear up. Kevin. Their little prophet. He closed the charm in his hand before slipping it into his pocket.

"I love it, Cas. Kevin would want me to keep it for him." Dean hugged Cas again before turning to his final gift, a small package from Sammy. He opened the package carefully. As he removed the paper, what he saw inside nearly made him cry.

Beneath the paper, was a small engraved music box. Dean recognized it as the same music box that his mother would play in his room whenever he couldn't sleep. The engraving read "May the Angels Always Watch Over You". The song, a lullaby version of the Kansas song "Carry On Wayward Son" always put him to sleep with dreams of one day driving the Impala with a pretty girl and maybe even a dog. Now, looking back on those dreams it just reminds him of all the pain in his life.

He didn't remember that he was being watched until he looked up from the ornate box, tears filling his eyes. He bit his lip slightly before opening the box. As the music played, he closed his eyes as every memory he could still access from the last 35 years of his life came rushing back to him. He felt the tears falling down his face but he didn't care. He was lost in the memories, both good and bad. When the song ended, he looked over at his brother, who also had tears rolling down his cheekbones.

"How did you...where did you find this?" Dean's voice was cracked from the crying as he tried to figure out how his brother managed to find and restore the old box. Sam smiled.

"It was in the box of things we got from the house when we got rid of that poltergiest. I've been wanting to restore it and everything for you. I finally finished it, so I'm giving it back to you. I know how much it means to you, and how much it meant to both mom and dad. I hope you like it," sam said, looking down at his feet.

Dean placed the box on the table gingerly before embracing Sam in the tightest, warmest hug he could manage. He knew that Sam had been beaten up about Kevin and about the trials, and he just needed this. Dean held onto Sammy for an unnaturally long time, not saying a word, just holding his baby brother like he always did. When they finally let each other go, Dean smiled at Sam as he wiped the tears from his face.

"I love it, Sammy. I love all of it. The party, the pie, the gifts...I almost forgot what it meant to have a regular birthday. But I guess all I need is the love of my family and a place to call home. I love it. Thank you, guys. This has been the best birthday I've had in a very, very long time," Dean said, pulling Charlie and Castiel in for a group hug. As Dean wrapped his arms around his family, he realized that no matter what came at them, they'd face it together. Because there is nothing, past or present that Dean Winchester was ever going to put in front of his family.

**A/N: My first Supernatural fic on here! I might post more of the other ones I've written if this one is recieved well.**


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